Amor Vincit Omnia
by bingblot
Summary: Thirty minutes before Ron and Hermione's wedding, Hermione has one last secret... H/Hr. *Complete* Please R/R!!!
1. Default Chapter

Author's Notes: This was written in response to skully's challenge in the Harry/Hermione forum on Portkey and is posted there as well.   The song is "Thirty Minutes" by t.A.T.u. and doesn't belong to me.   I own nothing except the plot.   

This is most likely the most angst-filled fic I've ever written or will ever write.   I made myself depressed while writing it.   

As it is, please let me know what you think.   Oh and extra points for anyone who can find the quote from Lori Summers' wonderful fic, "HP and the Show that Never Ends" in this chapter.   

~Part I~

Thirty Minutes 

The young woman in the mirror was beautiful.   

Very pale, it is true, with some lingering sadness in her brown eyes, but she was beautiful.   Tall and slender in her white dress, simply styled as was her habit, the skirt flaring out slightly in an A-line, with off-the-shoulder short sleeves.   

Her mother stood behind her, hands over her mouth and tears in her brown eyes so like her daughter's.   "Oh Hermione, my baby girl…  You look beautiful, sweetie."  

Hermione promptly manufactured a smile and put it on for her mother's sake.   "Thanks, mum."

She fell silent, studying herself again.   

She was getting married.   In a little more than half an hour, according to the clock in the small dressing room at the wizarding court-house.   

She should be happy.   She was marrying her best friend and she did love Ron.   He was sweet, kind and funny, and he loved her.   He would be good to her.   

And yet…   And yet…  

When she closed her eyes, she saw another face, just as familiar, but with messy black hair instead of red, and bright green eyes shining behind round glasses instead of bright blue.  

She bit her lip.   And suddenly she knew.   

She couldn't get married without getting this one secret off her chest.   

Mama, Papa  
Forgive me   
  
Out of sight  
Out of mind  
Out of time  
To decide  
  
Do we run?  
Should I hide?  
For the rest  
Of my life

She turned to her mother.  "Mum, can you ask Harry to come in here?   I have to talk to him."

Her mother looked surprised.  "Harry?   Now?"   She looked uncertain but then said, "Of course, dear.   I'll be right back." 

Left alone, Hermione sat down at the dressing table, staring blankly at the mirror, remembering…  

~*~*~

_"Hermione, I love you.   Will you marry me?"_

_She had hesitated.   She knew that much as she cared about Ron, she would never love him completely and wholly the way he deserved.   She knew that she never had loved Ron the same way he loved her, could not love him that way.  _

_Because she had given her heart already to someone else.   To their other best friend.   To Harry.   Only he didn't know it, and didn't care.   _

_She looked into his blue eyes, filled with sincere love and hope and suddenly felt a wave of tenderness.   Dear, dear Ron.   She couldn't hurt him.   _

_And so she opened her mouth and said, "Yes, Ron, I will."_

_4 words that had changed her life.   _

_For at that moment, she made a decision.   She would try to forget Harry, or at least if not forget him, she would never give Ron a moment's pain or worry about her feelings.   _

_~*~*~_

Alone in the dressing room, Hermione thought about that day a few months ago and the promise she'd made to herself and to Ron, although he didn't know it.   Only now, with half an hour before her wedding, she was filled with doubts again.   

She had to lay this, her one secret, to rest, before she could go on and begin a new life as Hermione Weasley.   

Can we fly?  
Do I stay?  
We could lose  
We could fail  
  
In the moment   
It takes  
To make plans  
Or mistakes  
  
30 minutes, a blink of an eye  
30 minutes,to alter our lives  
30 minutes,to make up my mind  
30 minutes,to finally decide

There was a knock on the door and Harry entered.   "Hermione?   What is it?"

He was dressed in a suit, in his role as best man, and she couldn't help but think how handsome he looked.   

He stopped when he saw her, shutting the door behind him by rote, his jaw hanging slack, and his eyes widening as they took her appearance in, moving from the top of her head to her feet and back again.   

She fought back tears.   Having him look at her like this suddenly made her feel like the most beautiful girl in the world.   She knew she was passably pretty but only he could make her feel beautiful.   

Oh, Ron told her on a regular basis that she was pretty, but somehow the words from him never meant as much.   

The look on Harry's face and in his eyes meant so much more.   She fought down another pang of guilt over Ron.

Harry blinked, seeming to remember himself.   "Hermione," he finally breathed, "you're beautiful."

She blushed.   "Thanks, Harry."

He smiled and moved to sit down across from her in the one other chair the room had, looking oddly out of place in the feminine room.   "What did you want to talk to me about?   Your mother said it was important."   

She looked at him, into that face she knew so well and loved so much.   

She opened her mouth, closed it, thought for a few minutes and then finally began to speak, avoiding meeting his eyes, as she spoke in a low voice.   

"Harry, I have to tell you something before I marry.   I – I love you, Harry."

He blinked, looking nonplussed.   "I know.  I love you too."

She gave a half-laugh, blinking back tears.   "No, no, I meant, I'm _in love_ with you."   There, it was out.   

She hurried on before he could react.   "I've loved you since sometime 5th year, I think, and I waited and hoped for so long that you would finally notice me in that way.   But you never did, never looked at me as anything but a friend and when Ron asked me out, I thought I might as well give up on you.   And I did care about Ron, you know that.   He's my best friend.   I didn't want to hurt him.   That's why I agreed to marry him.   I know he loves me and I love him too, in a way.   But today, I suddenly realized that I never stopped hoping, somewhere deep inside, that one day you would see me as more than a friend and I knew I had to tell you before I married Ron.    I guess you could say I'm exorcising my demons."   She finished with a half-laugh, half-sob.   

Harry was still silent, looking conflicted, confused, his eyes blank.   He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again.   

She continued before he could speak again.   "You don't have to love me back, Harry.   It's okay, I've resigned myself to it, but I just wanted you to know.   Just wanted to confess.   And now I have.   You can go now.  I want to be alone for a while."   

Harry didn't move, just looked at her, life coming back into his green eyes.   He spoke slowly, softly.   "Oh, Hermione, I'm so sorry." 

He leaned over, took her hand in his.   "I'm in love with you too," he said softly.

She sucked in a sharp breath, finally daring to meet his eyes.   They were bright, filled with some apprehension and – she caught her breath – love.

He drew closer, as her eyes fluttered closed.

And there, in one of the wizarding courthouses in London, exactly 30 minutes before the scheduled wedding of Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, Harry and Hermione shared their first kiss.

It was tentative, at first, his lips softly brushing hers, but then it changed, grew deeper.   Her lips opened to his tongue and her arms slid around his neck as his arms slid around her waist, pulling her close to him.   She fit as if she had been made for him.   Which of course, she had been.   

Hermione was the first to break away.   They were both breathing harder and he looked as stunned as she felt.   

Oh God.   She had never felt so confused in her life.   She was about to be married to Ron.   Harry loved her.   She didn't want to hurt Ron.  But how could she marry him now, knowing that Harry loved her too?   

She moved out of Harry's embrace, vaguely hearing Harry start to speak.  

"I didn't know, I didn't realize it until after you and Ron had already started dating.   So I never said anything, I thought there was no hope for me.   I never thought – never dreamed you would feel the same way, Hermione.   I don't deserve you…"

That got her attention and she turned to him, eyes flashing even through her tears.   "Don't say that, Harry!   We've been best friends for more than 7 years now and I _know_ you!   Merlin knows you could have made me hate you, but instead you made me love you."   Her voice softened.   "I think I trust my heart's opinion in this more than yours.   And your modesty is one of the things I love best about you."   

She smiled at him, and dropped a kiss on his head, loving the fact that she could give in to all her tender impulses towards him now, after years of having to suppress them or make them seem purely friendly.   

A silence fell, that Hermione was the first to break.   "What should we do now, Harry?"

He sighed, closing his eyes.   "I don't know" he finally said, his internal conflict clearly visible on his face.   

30 minutes,to whisper your name  
30 minutes,to shoulder the blame  
30 minutes,of bliss, thirty lies  
30 minutes,to finally decide  
  
Carousels   
In the sky  
That we shape  
With our eyes  
  
Under shade  
Silhouettes  
Casting shade  
Crying rain  
  
Can we fly?  
Do I stay?  
We could lose  
We could fail  
  
Either way  
Options change  
Chances fail  
Trains derail  
  
30 minutes, a blink of an eye  
30 minutes,to alter our lives  
30 minutes,to make up my mind  
30 minutes,to finally decide

She glanced at the clock.   25 minutes until her wedding – she shuddered a little – was supposed to begin.   Merciful Merlin, 25 minutes to make a decision that would change everything and quite possibly break 2 hearts or ruin the friendship of years.   

She looked at Harry again, at his eternally messy black hair, those round glasses, and somehow knew what she had to do.   

She loved Harry, would always love him.   There was really no decision to be made, only the fear now, of hurting Ron and disappointing the Weasleys.   

Harry looked conflicted.   She knew him well enough to know that his soul would revolt at the very idea of stealing Ron's bride away from him at the altar, as it was, knew his heart would never forgive him for breaking Ron's heart.   She didn't know if his love for her was stronger than his love and loyalty to Ron and the Weasleys.   They were the first ones to have accepted him, to have shown him any affection.   Could she compete with that?   

30 minutes,to whisper your name  
30 minutes,to shoulder the blame  
30 minutes,of bliss, thirty lies  
30 minutes,to finally decide  
  
To decide   
To decide, to decide, to decide  
  
To decide   
To decide, to decide, to decide  
  
To decide

But even as she studied him, he made his decision.   She could see it in the way his shoulders straightened.   He opened his eyes and looked at her, concern for Ron written clearly on his face but it was accompanied with decision, that same decisive courage that he had taken with him into every encounter against Voldemort and had finally allowed him to defeat Voldemort.   

"Don't marry Ron, Hermione.   I love you.   Marry me instead."   

The dam inside her broke at his words, so simple and direct in typical Harry fashion but made eloquent by the look in his eyes.   She burst into tears, throwing her arms around him, as he put his around her, holding her.   

"Oh, Harry!   I thought I would never hear you say that."   

They kissed almost frantically, the decision made that would end a friendship of more than 7 years and break the heart of their best friend, holding each other tightly as if gathering strength from the presence of the other, in preparation for the ordeal ahead.   

And yet, despite the concern, the conflicting emotions, and the certainty of causing much pain and disappointment to many people nearest and dearest to them, there was peace in their hearts.   Peace that a love that had been silent for so long was now in the open, peace that love would find a way.   

And though neither of them said it, the same thought was in both Harry and Hermione's mind.   Together, they could do anything.   


	2. Moment of Truth

A/N: Thanks to all who reviewed the first chapter!   I'm glad you liked it, and here's the second part of this angst-filled fic.   Enjoy.   

Kudos to Jacy for guessing the quote from Lori's fic.   J   It was that line that Hermione says to Harry about how he could have made her hate him but made her love him instead, after he says he doesn't deserve her, for those who care.   

This chapter is dedicated to Shenney, for unofficially beta-ing this as well as my other fics, and for getting me into H/Hr fanfiction in the first place.   You rock!  J  

~Part II~

Moment of Truth 

He was going to be sick.  He knew it.  

He didn't think he'd ever been so nervous in his entire life.   

Even during that Last Battle against You-Know-Who when he hadn't been sure who would live or who would die.   When fighting for your life, you don't have time to be nervous.  

Only now, half an hour before his last wedding, he was nervous.   

The judge who would be performing the ceremony was looking at him with some confusion as he paced.  Apparently, most grooms didn't pace like this at their own wedding.   

He was happy, he knew that.   He loved Hermione, always had.  And though he would never admit it, there was a small part of him that was feeling triumphant that finally, after a lifetime of being seen as The Boy Who Lived's sidekick, he was getting something Harry didn't have, a wife, a girl, THE girl, Hermione.   

And if there were occasional doubts about how much she loved him, he ignored them, pushed them to the back of his mind.   If he occasionally noticed the way Hermione's face lit up at the sight of Harry, he dismissed the fleeting pang of jealousy as paranoia.   

He trusted Hermione.   He knew her.   She wouldn't lie to him and she had told him she loved him.  

And he did love her.   She was still a bookworm, still a know-it-all, and Merlin knew he would never understand her preference for being in a library rather than on a Quidditch pitch…

No, he shook his head, as if to clear it of all these doubts.   He was sure it was normal.  

He looked around the room, at his family.   They were all there, his parents, although Molly had lost weight and was looking pale, as she always did these days, Charlie who had left his beloved dragons for his younger brother's wedding, Bill who'd Apparated up from Egypt where he had returned to curse-breaking after being part of the force against You-Know-Who in the Last Battle, the twins, Ginny, who'd grown up now to be really quite pretty.   

The only one who was missing was Percy.   He would always be missing now.   

He felt the familiar sadness in him at the thought of his older brother, the one he'd appreciated least and now missed so much.   Percy, always trying so hard to be perfect, so proud of his Prefect badge and his Head Boy badge, and yet with the same love and loyalty to all his siblings that Molly and Arthur had cultivated in all of their children.   

He was glad Hermione had agreed to a small private wedding, attended only by their nearest and dearest, Harry, of course, as best man, his family, her parents.   

It was still too short a time since Percy for a large celebration.   

He looked up and smiled at his soon-to-be mother in law as she came up to him.   

He liked Claire Granger, who reminded him of Hermione in so many ways.   

She looked agitated, as if she'd been crying.   "Ron, Hermione wants to talk to you," she faltered.   

Ron blinked.   "Now?"  He glanced at his watch.   "Less than half an hour before the wedding is supposed to start?"   

She nodded, blinking back tears, before hurrying away.   

He looked after her, frowning, before turning towards the small dressing room that Hermione and Claire had taken over when they arrived.   

He knocked softly.   "Hermione, is everything alright?"   

Hermione took a deep breath, gave Harry one last look, before opening the door.   

Ron stepped in, faltering as he saw her.   "Wow, Hermione, you look gorgeous."

She forced a smile as she said, "Thanks, Ron."   

He looked around, seeing Harry.   "Oh, there you are, Harry.   I was wondering where you'd disappeared to."   

Harry was pale, his green eyes standing out in the white of his skin.   He looked like he was going to be sick.   Hermione felt a pang of hurt at his ghastly appearance, knowing that Harry was remembering all those years of Ron's loyalty, meeting him on the Hogwarts Express that first day, in the Shrieking Shack when Ron had stood up against Sirius, despite his broken leg, Ron's stubborn refusal to allow Harry to distance himself from them during 5th year…  So many memories, from so many years of friendship…   

And it was about to be ended.  

For a moment she wavered again before she remembered reading something many years ago…   _Marrying one man when you're in love with another is just as much of a sin as adultery is._

She looked at Ron and Harry, the two men in her life, her two best friends.   She loved them both, she truly did, but Harry was part of her.   He was in her heart, in a way that Ron wasn't and never would be.   

She knew that Ron's easygoing good humor were good for her.   That she had brought out the responsible side of him.   In that sense, they were a good match.   

But the heart follows its own rules and her heart had always been Harry's.   

She looked at Ron who was smiling at her, his blue eyes shining with love and her heart broke again, for the hurt she was about to cause him.   

She had to do this.   

She opened her mouth.   "Ron, I – we – I mean, Harry and I – have to tell you something."   

Silence fell and suddenly she understood the expression of a pregnant silence.   She'd read it before many times and always rather scoffed at it.   Silence was silence.   It was her way and her nature, being brought up with two very matter-of-fact parents to doubt figurative speech and clichés but now she understood.   The silence _was_ pregnant, hurt, heartbreak, anger all about to burst forth.  

Harry opened his mouth to say something but she hurried on before he could, wanting, no, _needing_ to get this off her chest.   "Ron, I love you, I really do, but I can't marry you."   She finished in a whisper.   "I can't marry you because I'm in love with Harry."

Ron just stared at her.   And the look in his eyes…  She flinched and looked away, knowing she would never, until the day she died, no matter what happened, forget that look.   

"Ron, mate, I—I swear on- on our years of friendship that I never meant for this to happen.   I loved Hermione and I was prepared to be your best man and watch you marry her and I was happy for you both.   But Hermione's too important to me, and now that I know she loves me too, I can't give her up.   I can't."   Harry's voice cracked a little and he looked away, blinking rapidly.   

Merlin knew he'd had more than enough time to think about this over the past year and more since he'd realized his feelings for Hermione weren't just friendly.   He hated hurting Ron and part of him was beating the inside wall his chest, screaming that he should just give Hermione up.   But he couldn't do that.   Ron was his best friend, his dearest friend.   But Hermione was everything to him.   

He reached out, intending to put his hand on Ron's shoulder, seeking some sign that Ron understood, but Ron jerked back.   

"Don't!"   His voice was raspy, his skin the color of cottage cheese.   Only his eyes were still alive and they were filled with hurt, betrayal, and now some anger.   

Hermione stepped forward, tears streaming down her face.   "Ron, please, _please_ believe that I never meant to hurt you.   I just had to tell Harry the truth before I married you.   I wanted to have some closure, so I could put it behind me."   

She fell silent.   For once in her life, Hermione Granger had absolutely nothing to say that would make things any better.   If the situation had been less serious, she would have laughed at that.   The one time she could have used it, all the books she'd read, all the words she knew just failed her completely.   

But there was no need for words now.   No words that could try to heal this breach.   There were just three people crying as a friendship that had saved the world broke into little pieces around them.   

Ron had still not said anything since his repudiation of Harry.   His face and eyes said it all, though.   

For a moment, time seemed to stand still as Ron looked from one to the other, his former fiancée and his best friend, his _former_ best friend.   

Two men and the woman they both loved, three best friends whose relationship was crumbling to dust around them, Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, the Dream Team…

And then before either of them could react, Ron Weasley turned on his heel and walked out of the room, shutting the door with unnecessary firmness behind him, as he went to rejoin his family.   

On the clock on the wall, the time read 15 minutes before the scheduled wedding that would now never take place, was supposed to have begun.   

----

A/N 2: Comments, constructive criticism, reactions?   Any and all feedback will be appreciated!   (Besides, the more reviews, the quicker the next part will be posted.   And yes, there is going to be more of this.)   


	3. Repercussions

A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed!  *hugs*   

Now, brace yourselves, for a chapter where nothing really happens.   Just wanted to work out some of the consequences of Harry and Hermione deciding what they did.   And don't worry, happier times are coming!   

~Part III~

Repercussions 

A year and some months later… 

It was dark, getting late.

Ron Weasley stood at the window of his flat in London and stared outside, thinking, remembering.   

Remembering three kids who had been inseparable, three adults who had hurt each other without meaning to, months and months of brooding misery that had followed…   Months of not talking to or seeing Harry or Hermione at all…   

He knew how they were doing, of course.   Occasionally heard snippets on the radio, Harry's life always being such a fascinating topic to the wizarding public, and in the past few months, he heard from Ginny.

His entire family had cut off Harry and Hermione, rallying around him, in those months he never liked to think about now, after that disastrous wedding-that-wasn't.   

His mother had been hurt, disappointed as she had always cared about Hermione and wanted her for a daughter, and torn by the fact that Hermione had hurt her youngest son for the boy whom she had practically adopted as well and loved almost as another son.   

Ginny had been hurt as well, not because of any lingering feelings for Harry, as she'd gotten over her crush years ago, but out of loyalty to him and some feelings of betrayal at Hermione, who'd always been one of her closest friends, more like a sister than a friend.   Ginny had been ecstatic when he and Hermione had gotten engaged.   It had taken months before Ginny had forgiven Hermione and Harry and renewed their friendship.

He was glad about Ginny's rapprochement with them.   His own anger had taken longer to come to terms with.

His family had tried to cheer him, their sympathy getting almost cloying after a while, and he had retreated, taken a leave of absence from his job and gone to lick his wounds and heal.   

Until one day he'd woken up to realize that he didn't love Hermione in that way.   He'd thought he had and maybe a part of him still did and always would, but he wasn't _in love_ with her.   He found himself remembering all those little traits about her that he had always found irritating but had loyally refrained from thinking about or mentioning.   

And he missed Harry, missed being able to joke with him, missed Harry's teasing rolling of eyes whenever Ron made some comment about the Chudley Cannons.   

He missed the Dream Team.   The way it was never really spoken but they had always somehow known that they would do anything for each other if it was necessary.   The way they were all so different but somehow all fit, like puzzle pieces that just clicked to form a whole.   The jokes they'd shared, whether it was over Hermione's lack of Quidditch knowledge, or Harry's inability to perform charms the first time he learned them, or his own love of the Chudley Cannons.

He sighed heavily, as he had found himself doing more and more often these days, and wondered how Harry and Hermione would react if he went to see them.   

He supposed they would be glad to see him.   He hoped they would be glad to see him.   

He missed them, his best friends.   

He wondered if this was the way people felt when they lost limbs, the feeling that something vitally important was missing that should be there.   Harry and Hermione had been such central parts of his life from that first day on the Hogwarts Express so many years ago that not having them present in his life just felt wrong.   

Wrong.   Funny word, that.   His life in the past year and more since the wedding-that-wasn't had been just that.   Off-kilter, unbalanced, not quite right, however you put it, it was the same, just wrong.   

He supposed what Harry and Hermione had done to him had been wrong, too, in the moral sense of right and wrong.   And yet, he understood.   Now.  

He had done little else in those first months but think of it: himself, Harry, and Hermione and the classic love triangle they had formed.   He'd gone back through all his memories of their years of friendship, examined the memories to the point that he'd wanted to make a Pensieve so he could easily access all his memories.   And he'd seen and remembered all the little signs from years ago of Hermione's feelings for Harry vs. her feelings for him.   

He knew that Hermione did love him.   She had said she did and Hermione didn't lie, was fundamentally incapable of lying.   It went against the directness that was part of her.   It was one of the things he liked best about her.   She did love him as a friend, but she had always loved Harry as more than a friend.   

He remembered all the times he'd seen her face and eyes light up at the sight of Harry, all the times she'd gone with him to Quidditch practices or matches, always to watch Harry, even though it was never spoken.   He knew she had never really liked Quidditch and yet she never missed a game.   Even during their third year, when she had been taking so many classes and she'd barely slept at all, she'd never missed a game.   And it had been for Harry, he knew that.   

He remembered and now he wondered how he could ever have thought that he and Hermione were meant for each other.   There had been so many signs all along of her true feelings, signs that he'd either ignored or not understood.   

He continued to stare out at the night sky, watching as slowly the lights in people's windows started to turn off.   

Harry, Hermione, I forgive you.  I miss you guys.  

Not too far away, another young man was also staring out the window, although he didn't see any of the lights shining out of the darkness.   

His green eyes were fixed as he thought about Ron, his best friend.   He never thought of Ron as his former best friend, even though in all actuality, that was what Ron was.   He'd never stopped thinking of Ron as his best friend, still missed him with an intensity that felt almost physical.   Never, since that brief estrangement in fourth year, had he and Ron not been talking.   Only now, all contact between himself and Ron had been cut off.   

He remembered seeing the Weasleys that day so long ago, a lost, confused eleven-year-old wondering how to get to Platform 9 and ¾, meeting Ron and talking to him.   He remembered that brutal chess game they'd played at the end of first year and Ron's sacrificing himself.

He remembered Ron's face when they'd heard that it was Ginny who'd been taken down into the Chamber of Secrets.   Ron, with a broken leg in the Shrieking Shack still trying to stand up against Sirius to protect him.   Ron…  

Ron was so central to all his memories of Hogwarts, Ron and Hermione and himself.   The unbeatable, inseparable trio.   Or so they'd thought.   

But they weren't children anymore and mature feelings and emotions had gotten in the way.   

He didn't start when he felt Hermione come up behind him and slide her arms around his waist.   It was a habitual position for them, so he just shifted a little to put his arms around her, resting his chin on her head after dropping a quick kiss on her hair.   

Her voice was quiet.   "You're thinking about Ron."   It wasn't a question.

He sighed.   "Yes."   

"You know Ginny said she thinks he's forgiven us."

"I hope he has, but forgiving is different from understanding."  

Hermione didn't answer; there was no need to.   They had talked about this before.   It was a recurring conversation between them.   

They both missed having Ron in their lives.   They both felt guilty over what they'd done.

There was a brief silence, before Hermione voiced a question that had begun to bother her more and more these past months as the estrangement with Ron dragged on with no sign of ending.   "Harry, are you sorry about us?"

Immediately, he drew back to look at her.   "No, I'm not.   I couldn't be, not when I know just how important you are to me."   

It amazed him sometimes, that she still seemed to doubt the depth of his feelings for her.   He'd known for so long now that he wouldn't last for long without her.   She was so much a part of him, so entwined with his heart and life that he couldn't imagine not loving her.

She smiled a little, feeling reassured.   

He paused, then asked in a low voice, "Are you?"

Startled she raised her eyes to meet his.   "Of course not!   Harry, you're everything to me.   However much I care about Ron, and however sorry I am that I had to hurt him so much, I could never be sorry to be with you.   I'm only sorry it took me so long to find the courage to tell you.   We could have spared ourselves and him a lot of heartache."   

Harry only kissed her forehead in response, as she rested her head on his chest.   

She could feel his heart beating against her cheek, its steady rhythm somehow reassuring her, as she relaxed into his embrace.   

They were happy, oh so happy, but they had paid a heavy price for their happiness, she knew.   

They stood like that for a while, watching as the lights went out around them.   

Later they went up to their room in a comfortable silence.   

Neither said a word as he slid over to her, his hands moving over her body.  She arched towards him, responding, still in silence.  

No words were necessary. 

She gasped his name once, "Harry!" as she came.  He said nothing as he shuddered above her, before collapsing at her side, automatically reaching out to draw her close to him.   

"I love you, Hermione.   Forever," he murmured softly as he drifted into sleep.

Her heart swelled as she watched him, the love of her life, fall asleep, before snuggling beside him.   All was right in her world when she was in his arms.   

A/N 2: Please review and let me know what you think!   As always, the more reviews I get, the quicker I'll post again!      


	4. A Breach Mended

A/N: Happy Easter, everyone!   

Here it is, what you've been waiting for, the reconciliation.   I hope it satisfies.   

~Part IV~

A Breach Mended 

There was a knock at the front door.

Ron Weasley frowned, wondering who it could be, calling at this hour.   

The knock came again and he opened the door.

His first instinct was to close it again when he saw who was there.

It was Harry.

Harry, alone.   The same Harry with the black hair that would just not stay neat, the round glasses, the green eyes.   Harry.

There was an uncomfortable silence as the two men, once so close and now worse than strangers, stared at each other.

Ron's throat seemed to have closed up.   He was fairly certain he'd been able to speak as of just a minute ago, but now he couldn't have said a coherent word to save his life.   

Finally, he just stepped back, allowed Harry to enter.   It seemed pointless to deny him entrance, and besides, he knew Harry, knew what it must have taken for Harry to finally come here and also knew that although Harry could take time making decisions, once the decisions were made, he acted on them without hesitation.   It was part of that Gryffindor courage, a trait that had nearly gotten them all killed several times, granted, but had also saved their lives as well, at other times.    So, he knew that even if he denied Harry today, Harry would simply return again and again until he had let him in.   There was no sense in wasting time, especially not as he himself had already decided that their stalemate of sorts couldn't just go on as it had been.   

It had always been one of the strengths of their friendship that talking wasn't necessary.   But now, with this huge chasm between them, the never-mentioned but undeniable presence of Hermione hovering between them, they needed to talk.   He had already decided that.   Now the question was simply finding the words to start.   

Ron sat down facing Harry and for a moment, simply studied him.   The boy he'd known for so long, the young man he'd become.   

Harry looked well, happy, and Ron noticed that the sense of loss that had always seemed to be lurking in Harry's eyes, the sadness over his parents, Hagrid, Dumbledore, all the losses he'd endured over the years, had finally gone.   

And even the painful knowledge that it was Hermione and her love that had effected this change couldn't quell the sudden feeling of happiness in Ron at seeing his old friend looking so fulfilled and finally at peace.   They had gone through too much together, he'd seen Harry in some of the darkest times of his life, been there for too much of it to see this change now without sharing in some of his former friend's joy, as much as it hurt him to see it.   

He had known it before, come to terms with it, he'd thought, but somehow now, he fully realized that whatever blame might be placed on Harry, Harry's words that painful day had been true.   Harry really could not give up Hermione's love; he needed it too much.   Needed the support, understanding and love that only Hermione could provide in a way that he himself would never, had never, needed Hermione.   They were right together, he finally acknowledged, and really had always been meant for each other.   The acknowledgment brought some pain – how could it not? – but it brought a measure of peace as well.   

And suddenly he knew what to do.   

Harry cleared his throat, shifting in his seat.    "Ron, I – we – uh, we have to talk."  

Ron had the sudden crazy urge to laugh.   Trust Harry to state what was so blatantly obvious like that.   

He had a sudden flashback to 4th year, Harry in the First Task, up against a Hungarian Horntail.   

_Ron stared at Harry as if he'd never seen him before and Harry had suddenly sprouted another head or something.   _

_He could still see in his mind the forbidding size of the Horntail, remembered some of Charlie's warnings about that particular breed, and then Harry, looking very small against the dragon and realizing he'd been playing the role of a supreme git these past weeks.   Now, facing Harry, all he could say was the main thought.   "Harry, whoever put your name in that Goblet – I – I reckon they're trying to do you in!"_

_And Harry's response, "Caught on, have you?   Took you long enough."_

_He inwardly flinched at this dig at his own idiocy and while knowing he had to apologize, wanted to apologize, suddenly didn't know what to say.   _

_And then Harry, the Harry he knew, was back, saying "It's OK.  Forget it," and not letting him continue.   _

_And with one exchange of grins, somehow words really became unnecessary and everything really was OK.   _

Harry opened his mouth to say something and he cut him off, speaking first.   "Forget it, Harry.   It's OK.   I forgave you and Hermione a long time ago.   You don't need to explain."   

Harry blinked, somehow looking younger than his 20 years.   "But Ron-"

"I said, it's _OK_, Harry.   Enough with the guilt already."   

Harry still looked uncertain, hesitating before meeting his eyes, as if afraid of what he would see.   

The look on Ron's face was familiar.   It was one he always wore when frustrated at Harry's inability to let go of things, half annoyed and yet understanding the cause of it as well.   

He tried one more time, needing to get this off his chest, to explain.   "But…"

Ron cut him off again.   "Shut up, Potter."  

And Harry knew that it really was ok.   

Relief and happiness hit him hard, so hard as to make him glad he was sitting down.   Somehow Ron really did understand about him and Hermione and didn't resent him.

"How's Hermione?"   Ron's voice and quiet question broke the comfortable silence that had fallen, as each came to terms with the new understanding between them.  

The wounds given and received a year ago would always be there, scarred over, it is true, but still present.   Both knew that the friendship now would always be different than what it had been before, a relationship needing to be rebuilt from its foundations.   But at least with this reconciliation and end to the long stalemate, the rebuilding of that old friendship could begin, stronger in one sense, because now both knew just how vital that friendship was.

The question didn't surprise Harry; he'd been expecting it.   "She's fine.   She misses you, though."

Ron only nodded slowly in response, seeming deep in thought, and then Harry surprised himself as well as Ron by suddenly standing up, saying, "Come with me to talk to her now, Ron.   She'd love to see you, you know."   

Ron hesitated for a second, wary of opening the wounds that had taken so long to heal, but finally realized there really was no point in delaying the inevitable.   

And the fact remained that he himself needed to finally close this chapter of hurt and bitterness.   The Dream Team needed the third member to be truly healed again.   

They walked in without knocking, Ron pushing away a small pang he couldn't help but feel at this concrete evidence that Harry and Hermione really were a couple.

Hermione walked out to meet them.   "Harry, there you are.   An owl came for you from…"   Her sentence cut off as she saw Ron, standing somewhat uncertainly behind Harry.   

Her mouth opened and closed several times as she stood there, staring at him as if he were a ghost or something, all color leaving her face.   

He stared back at her, he couldn't help it.   This was the woman he'd thought he loved, the woman he'd been on the verge of marrying, the woman who'd chosen his best friend instead.   She looked better than he'd ever seen her, was positively glowing with love and happiness; it was written all over her.   And again, he was happy at this further proof of the complete and utter rightness of his two best friends being together, even while squelching the small pang of hurt and disappointment that she had never looked so happy when she was engaged to him.   

"Hello, Hermione, it's good to see you," he finally said, the words commonplace, the tone and the expression on his face speaking volumes.   

And as if the sound of her name had finally broken through the dam of her surprise, she rushed forward to hug him, making a sound that was half-sob, half-cry, "Oh, Ron!"   He hugged her back, somewhat awkwardly, as she cried and babbled somewhat hysterically into his chest.   He could decipher phrases here and there, mainly consisting of "I'm so sorry" and "I missed you" and "it's so good to see you."   

He sent Harry a somewhat beleaguered look, the timeless look of a man uncomfortable with a woman's tears, and Harry grinned before coming and wrapping an arm around each of them, as Hermione shifted to put her arm around Harry as well.   

The three stood like that, in a three-way embrace, feeling the pieces that had been missing from their lives for so long, finally falling back into place.   The Dream Team was together again, bruised and battered, it is true and not the same, but together, once more a trio.   And the utter rightness of it was reassuring.  

After a moment, they separated with an awkward laugh, as Hermione wiped her eyes, looking embarrassed at her breakdown.   

She stepped back with Harry as he put his arm around her shoulders and she leaned against him, ever so slightly and for only a moment as Harry tightened his arm briefly, but long enough that Ron noticed, watching them as he was.   The gesture was fleeting, and so natural it was clearly a habit of theirs.

And he smiled.   "You guys look good together."   He paused, a somewhat pained expression crossing his face, before seeming to force himself to continue.   "I wondered how you were, together, as hurt as I was, wanted to see it.   I really am happy for you guys, you know."   

The confession seemed to linger in the air long after he'd stopped speaking, as they looked from one to the other, and Harry and Hermione seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.  

It was Hermione who spoke first, the look in her eyes and tone of her voice expressing heart-felt relief as well as an acknowledgment of the grief and pain of the past.   "Thank you, Ron, so much."

"Just don't break down on me again like that, or I'll run away, I swear.   I never could stand to see a girl cry, remember?"

At that oh-so-characteristic statement by Ron, three happy people started to laugh, as their hearts and minds shed the burdens of mutual guilt, regret and heartache that they  had carried for far too long.   

A/N 2: Please review, and no flames please!   

Just an epilogue to go, and then this will be done.    


	5. Epilogue: Happily Ever After

A/N: Well, this is it.   After all the angst that's come before, this last part is almost pure fluff.   And for all those who wanted poor Ron to get some happiness, I hope this satisfies.   

This is for all of us onboard the Good Ship, the HMS Pumpkin Pie.   Enjoy and please review!!   

~Epilogue~

Happily Ever After 

_Some months later…_

The woman in the mirror was beautiful.   

Beautiful in the traditional sense of being tall, slender, and wearing a lovely dress.  But also radiant with happiness, eyes shining with hope and the certainty that she was doing the right thing.   

She faced herself in the mirror, seeing in her mind's eye herself in another white dress at another wedding that had never happened.   She remembered and she smiled, sighed, at the contrast between that day and this.   Then she had been doubtful, uncertain.   Today she was absolutely confident, brimming over with joy and hope.   Today she truly felt like a bride.   

She met her mother's tearful eyes in the mirror, knew that her mother, too, was thinking about that other disastrous wedding-that-wasn't.   

The past would intrude, she knew, it was inevitable, but even that couldn't change the happiness of this day.   This had truly been meant to be and only marked the reaffirmation of what had long ago been acknowledged.   

She glanced at the clock.   In just thirty minutes, she would become officially Mrs. Harry Potter.   

She couldn't wait.   

How was it possible, he wondered, to be so nervous and yet so happy at the same time?   

He knew that this was right, was absolutely certain, for once in his life, of what he was doing and that this was quite possibly going to be the best thing that had ever happened to him.   

He was marrying his best friend and the woman he'd adored for years, finally making their relationship official, although in all honesty, he already considered her to be his wife.   This ceremony was just to put an official gloss over what had already been true and not really essential.   

And yet, he was nervous.   Somehow.   

He looked at his godfather who smiled at him, understanding and amusement in his eyes.   "Harry, relax.   Hermione's been your wife in everything but name for the past 2 years almost.   It's not really going to change a thing."   

He looked at Ron, his best friend, who was looking somewhat strained despite his smile.   Harry was glad to see, though, that Ron had brought Amy with him, his girlfriend and, if he was reading the signs correctly, soon-to-be fiancée.   

Ron had met Amy a few months ago and immediately taken to the pretty Hufflepuff.   People, especially Fred and George, had teased him for only liking her for her hair, that was a pretty auburn, not quite a Weasley red but close enough, and Ron only turned crimson, denying the charge.    Amy was good for Ron, shared his sense of humor and balanced Ron's tendency to a quick temper with her own patience and sweetness.   

Harry couldn't have been happier, knowing that finally Ron seemed on the verge of having what he and Hermione had.   

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Ginny, Fred and George were also there.   Charlie and Bill had sent regrets being unable to get away from their respective duties.   He was grateful for the Weasleys' presence, knew they were officially accepting his and Hermione's relationship.  It had taken some time and more than a month of awkwardness after the Weasleys' forgiveness had been obtained, but Arthur and Molly's genuine kindness and love had won out.   

He and Hermione had spent Christmas at the Burrow again, as had been traditional.   

Standing next to Sirius was Remus, his other best man.   

Ron had been asked but had declined, which he had understood completely.   There was no need to bring up more painful memories on a day that was meant to be for happiness alone.   

Standing there, waiting, looking around at his nearest and dearest, Harry felt his nervousness fade away.   

Everything was going to be fine.   

There was a sudden hush, a rustle, as Hermione's parents hurriedly entered, taking their seats at the front.   Hermione had chosen not to be given away as was traditional, saying that when she married him, she was choosing to give herself.   

And then she appeared.   Hermione, his bride, his partner, his love.   

Their eyes met and held as she walked slowly toward him, never looking away, her eyes shining with the same love, joy and trust that he knew was also in his.   

The ceremony was short, simple, and yet touching in its very simplicity.   

The small audience smiled as they watched Harry and Hermione face each other, saying the words that would legally bind them together for the rest of their lives, as their hearts and minds had already been bound.   

"I, Hermione Anne Granger, take you, Harry James Potter…"

"I, Harry James Potter, take you, Hermione Anne Granger…"

And Ron thought, _Yes, this was always meant to be.   I'm so happy for you both_, and smiled as he squeezed Amy's hand on his knee.

And Sirius and Remus both thought, _So like Lily and James_, and blinked back tears.   

And Harry and Hermione thought, _At last_, as they sealed their vows with a kiss that meant, _Forever._


End file.
